Reprieve for Walnutport personal care homes

State had ordered the homes to be sold or closed.

As of Friday, residents of two Walnutport personal care homes no longer are facing the threat of relocation, as the state has authorized a new company to operate the homes.

Earlier this month, the Department of Public Welfare prepared to relocate residents from Canal Side Care Manor and Canal Side Care Manor-Gingerbread House. The adjacent homes house about 62 people. The state refused to renew their licenses last year because the owner had failed to tell authorities she was under investigation for discriminating against a resident with HIV, according to department documents.

Friday, the state licensed Apex Management Group LLC of New York to run the homes, meaning they won't have to close. Any residents who want to leave will be able to, with state assistance, Department of Public Welfare spokeswoman Anne Bale said.

Apex takes over operations from Canal Side Care Manor LLC, which court records say is owned by Lakshmi Kademani.

The state's action against the Canal Side homes stems from a 2008 complaint filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission accusing Kademani and Canal Side of discriminating against a resident by evicting her because she had HIV.

Bale said while that complaint was pending, Kademani applied to renew the licenses for the care homes in 2009 and failed to disclose the ongoing investigation on the application, which asked if she was aware of any complaints that had been filed.

That omission and violations discovered during inspections of the homes prompted the state not to renew the licenses, according to a letter it sent Kademani last year.

The letter said she had "attempted to deceive the department by providing false information on her … application for certification of civil rights compliance."

Kademani declined to comment and referred me to Canal Side's lawyer, Barbara Graybill of Harrisburg. She told me Kademani did not try to deceive state officials. She said Kademani's failure to disclose the Human Relations Commission complaint on the licensing application was "an oversight."

"There was no intent to hide that from anyone," Graybill said.

Home operators often refer to their previous licensing applications when filling out new ones, and there had been no previous complaints against Canal Side, she said.

"She just filled it out the way she always filled it out," Graybill said.

She said Kademani didn't believe she had violated the rights of the resident with HIV.

In 2010, the Human Relations Commission ruled she had. It ordered Canal Side and Kademani to pay the woman $50,000 in damages, plus interest, for "humiliation and embarrassment," and to pay a $5,000 fine. The commission ordered Canal Side to establish and post non-discrimination policies regarding HIV and AIDS and not deny "equal housing opportunities because of an individual's disability."

Kademani appealed the ruling to Commonwealth Court, which upheld it late last year. Kademani has paid the fine and has set up a schedule to pay the former resident, said commission spokeswoman Shannon Powers.

Bale said the state also rejected an application last year from Kademani's husband to operate a personal care home at the same address under the name of a new entity, Walnutport Manor LLC.

The Kademanis appealed the licensing denials and a settlement was reached in September. It required Canal Side Care Manor and Canal Side Care Manor-Gingerbread House to be sold to a new, department-approved operator by Nov. 29, or to close by Dec. 29.

Graybill said the Kademanis agreed to settle the matter for several reasons, including their ages, the legal expense of proceeding and the slim likelihood of persuading licensing officials to change their minds.

"There was very little chance of winning," she said.

The Kademanis also were looking out for their residents, Graybill said, and hoped to find a buyer so residents wouldn't be relocated.

The state said it received two applications to operate the homes. One came from a current employee and was rejected because of that affiliation, Bale said. The other came from Apex Management Group.

Bale said the state extended the deadline for a sale to accommodate negotiations between Canal Side and Apex, "to prevent unnecessary resident displacement." She said when no agreement had been reached by Jan. 3, the state began preparing to relocate residents. Graybill said a sales agreement since has been reached.

If you are considering placing a loved one in a personal care home, check the home's Department of Public Welfare inspection reports, which are available at http://www.dpw.state.pa.us. That's how I discovered the state's actions against Canal Side Care Manor.

More information on Canal Side is on my blog at http://blogs.mcall.com/watchdog/.

The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me by email at watchdog@mcall.com, by phone at 610-841-2364 (ADOG), by fax at 610-820-6693, or by mail at The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. Follow me on Twitter at mcwatchdog and on Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog.